La Jaula de Oro, or The Golden Dream, is about 3 Guatemalan citizens who are attempting to immigrate to the US. It begins with Juan, Sara, and Samuel in Guatemala. Sara binds her chest and cuts of her hair in an attempt to prevent being picked out as a woman later on. She also takes a birth control pill, which I assume was to protect her in case she was assaulted. Throughout their journey, and many different train rides, they meet an indigenous kid named Chauk who tags along. Police in Mexico find the kids and harass them, take all of their belongings, and then deport them back to Guatemala. Samuel decides to stay behind after they were deported from Mexico. Juan and Sara are in a relationship; however, it is strained with Sara's new interest …show more content…
in Chauk. They get on another train that gets stopped by immigration officers who then chase everyone who was on the train. The kids make it to safety in someone's home and then work in a field to earn some money or food.
Eventually, they get on another train. This train gets stopped by bad people with guns. Everyone is told to line up and they pick out the women and put them in a truck. When one of the men looks closely at Sara, he realizes that she is a girl and then molests her. Chauk and Juan attempt to save her but get brutally beaten and left behind. This is the last that Sara is seen in the movie. When Chauk and Juan finally wake up, they can't find Sara but continue on their journey to Los Angeles. They get on another train and meet a boy who tells them that $100 isn't enough to get across the border and that his cousin would let them work. Many people from the train listen and follow him- but it was a trap. Juan and Chauk end up being held at gunpoint and are only let go because Juan made a selfless decision and gave up his money. They finally make it to the border and are used as drug smugglers to get to the other side. Once on the other side, Chauk and Juan are just walking through deserts and mountains but there was a sniper that began shooting at Juan and Chauk- Chauk died. Finally, Juan makes it to L.A. and works in a meat processing factory as a
janitor. There was so much that happened in this movie that I found it very difficult to process. I think the hardest part about watching this is knowing that it happens to many people daily. I can't even fathom what Sara went through, and it terrifies me to know that this isn't a dramatization of events- these things actually happen. I admire the positivity of all of the characters through all of their hardships. This movie was beautifully depressing. I can't say that I enjoyed watching it, but I am glad that it exists. It was captivating, and I really cared for the people in the story (I actually gasped when Chauk was killed). Additionally, there are so many ways that this is applicable in the US. Immigration is a common controversial topic, that almost every citizen has an opinion about. Many conservatives feel strongly against opening our arms to accept those in need- which I can't understand. I can't hate anyone that I don't know- and I can't imagine supporting the idea that people don't deserve the same freedom and stability that many Americans have. In addition, they addressed many dangers that people face when trying to immigrate. Rape, assault, theft, police brutality, and drugs were just some of the few dangers faced. It's a really scary world out there, and this movie relates perfectly to the United States current issues. I think this movie should definitely be shown again- it is really eye-opening.
Carmen: A Hip Hopera; a musical film starring Beyoncé as an inspiring actress. However, Carmen Brown was once Carmen Jones; starring Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte in the 1954 version. However, the 1954 version of Carmen is not the original playwright, as there have been many adaptations to create relevance of the production. The first production of Carmen was written as a novel that was published in 1845, which there is a four-part compromise. However, the novel Carmen was later turned into an urban film. The history of Carmen will be identified through analyzing and critiques the history of the playwrights. Therefore, the adaptations and along with the history of Carmen, will be examined to further establish the importance of the film.
Can a girl living under a dictatorship with very little freedom, grow up? That girl's name is Anita de la Torre, the main character from the novel by Julia Alvarez. Anita lives in a big compound along with all of her relatives. They live together with all their cousins and have fun at the pond or the gate of the compound. In the story, her father and uncle are involved in a plot to overthrow the evil dictator, El Jefe. By the end of the novel, Anita grows up from being a young wide eyed kid to becoming a grown up adult because of all the hardships she endures. (Good thesis statement)
One of the primary unifying forces of the Cuban community in South Florida is La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, or Our Lady of Charity. In 1898, after Cuba won its independence from Spain, she became the official patroness of the island. The Cuban soldiers credited their victory to the Virgin's intervention in their crusade for independence. The Virgin is seen as a religious tradition that strongly unites Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits. In South Florida, Cubans throughout the United States gather each year to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Charity on September the eighth. Alongside the traditional Catholic service, many within the exile congregation offer their hopes and prayers, to the Virgin, for a Cuba free from communism.
For an immigrant, entering into the United States during the early 1900s was a time in search for new beginnings, new possibilities, and a new life. Similarly, this concept was the same for Sara. In the early chapters of the novel, Sara's character is introduced as a young, courageous girl who works hard every day providing money and food for her family. Her job consisted of working in shops and going out into the streets of New York as a beggar
The movie La Jaula de Oro, is a life story of a journey of three kids from Guatemala to the United States. In the movie there are three kids Sara, Samuel, and Juan, they first embark on the journey through Mexico. When they first arrive to Chiapas, the kids put on a play to collect money for food, after the play Sara befriends this boy named Chauk. Who is an indigenous boy from Tzotzil, and also plans to get to America, and convinces them to come join the group. This group of kids is put through a lot during the film, it’s a very interesting journey for 4 kids to experience. This film shows the struggles and difficulties immigrants succumb and sheds some light into the harsh realities of what people don’t think about when they hear the word
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
Junot Diaz’s “Otravida, Otravez” postulates a perspective of life where one’s present and future always reflects their past in some way. Diaz incorporates symbolic figures to convey how a person’s past can be carried into the future. Diaz’s use of symbolic figures includes the dirty sheets washed by Yasmin, the letters sent by Virta to Ramon, and the young girl who begins working with Yasmin at the hospital. These symbolic figures and situations remind the readers that the past will always play a major role in one’s present. Additionally, Diaz’s word choice, where Spanish words appear in many different parts of the reading, suggests that indirectly, one’s past habits are not easily broken.
Some earlier versions of La Llorona use the loss of La Llorona’s children to demonstrate the destruction of indigenous Mexican culture that occurred when Spain conquered Mexico. In fact, these versions use the example of La Llorona to describe what occurred during that time period: the explorers using the indigenous women for sex, the destruction of “ancient marriage patterns,” and the abundance of illegitimate children that were shunned by both the Spaniards and the indigenous people (Butterworth 20). In these examples, La Llorona is La Malinche, who was the lover of the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes. One version of La Llorona is not historically accurate, but nonetheless explicitly demonstrates this destruction of culture. The story begins
"This (Illegal) American Life" In the story "This (Illegal) American Life" Maria Andreu explains the struggle of smuggling into the U.S. and living as an undocumented alien. Andreu's parents came into the U.S. in their early twenties, with baby Andreu at the time. Looking forward to having a better life here in the States. When Andreu turned six, her grandfather passed away. Andreu and her mother left the country and arrived in Argentina to attend the funeral.
Another sexist narrative that Diaz counters is the one that states that women are submissive figures who cannot have a strong will or determination. In order to counter this narrative, Junot Diaz employs the character of Hypatia Belicia Cabral, better known as Beli, the adoptive daughter of La Inca and Oscar’s mother. Diaz makes Beli’s tenacity obvious when he describes the gossip going around the town in which La Inca lived regarding Beli and her first adoptive family. The story of Beli is described as that of “A little campesina girl living in outer Azua had tried to attend a new rural school [...] and her parents who weren’t her parent flipped when the girl kept skipping out on work to attend classes” (Diaz 255). Despite her parent’s opposition,
The emotional letter that Juan left for his mother might be one of the most emotional scenes in the documentary. The pure emotions that the letter was written by Juan to her mother leaves the audience with the bonds and emotions felt between the kids and families. Juan Carlos’s father abandoned the family years ago and left to New York, consequently Juan believe it is his responsibility to provide for his family. He also wants to find his father in New York and confronts him about why he has forgotten about them. The story of Juan is not just about migration of children, but also the issue of family separation. The documentary does not dehumanize but rather bring the humane and sensitive lens to the story of Juan where the human drama that these young immigrants and their families live. Juan Carlos is not the first of Esmeralda’s sons to leave for the United states, his nine-year-old brother Francisco was smuggled into California one month earlier. Francisco now lives with Gloria, his grandmother, who paid a smuggler $3,500 to bring him to Los Angeles, California. Once Juan Carlos is in the shelter for child migrants his mother eagerly awaits him outside. After she sees him she signs a paper that says if Juan Carlos tries to travel again, he will be sent to a foster home.
In the book “Lazarillo de Tormes” the main character Lazaro narrates his story of traversing masters and employers by request of a person, most likely a civil authority, referred to only as Your Honour and because of references to “Your Honour’s servant and friend” probably his current neighbor the Archpriest of Toledo as well (59). The Archpriest noticed how skilled Lazaro is at collecting and disseminating information throughout the city as the town crier, and encouraged him to marry one of his concubine servants and become his neighbor in an effort to ensure the scandal’s obscurity. Lazaro most likely knew of the Archpriest’s affair, yet also knew that because his
The documentary, Narco Cultura, gives a primary view into the Sinaloa drug cartel and the influence it has on music and Mexico. The film, released in 2013, and directed by award-winning photojournalist, Shaul Schwarz, follows the lives of two people in two societies; one living in the United States, the other living in Juarez, Mexico. The film, Narco Cultura, does well displaying the conditions that face Mexicans in Juarez, like murders and threats of violence, as well as the lavish lifestyle, “El Corrido’s,” experience in the United States, by using music, and interviews, which help to support a basic idea; the cartel is destroying society in one country, while influencing a lavish lifestyle in another. Shaul Schwarz does an exceptional job displaying the opposing lifestyles stemming from the same sinister cartel.
Hieronimo is a symbol for the authority of law within The Spanish Tragedy. From his soliloquy in act III scene II, one can see Hieronimo’s ambiguity in deciding whether to pursue either justice or revenge. It could be argued that Hieronimo’s actions and concerns change throughout the course of the play by the wills of others and not his own desires; thus representing the failed authority of the law. This can be shown by analysing Hieronimo, Bel-imperia, the Gods, Lorenzo and the Law.